Project Archangel
by Chaos Productions
Summary: In the aftermath of the Battle for Tokyo, a sinister new global conspiracy rises with its sights set solely on Meg. With the help of a mysterious ally, Jo must combat a dangerous new enemy to save her friend - and, possibly, the rest of mankind...
1. Chapter 1

**Project Archangel  
CHAPTER 1:  
The Kidnapping**

Meg strode dejectedly through the empty streets leading towards the ruins of the RAPT headquarters. Almost painfully, her memories of Jo kept playing through her head. She hoped, with every fibre of her being, that the explosion did not claim the life of the girl she loved. However, deep down, she knew that she was bearing down on inevitable disappointment. Nobody could survive a blast like that. Not even Jo…

"_Don't do this! This is RAPT we're talking about, you can't possibly beat them!"_

"_There's no reason for you to do this. Like I was telling you earlier, we can just get out of here, go far away and have a happy life together!"_

"_You're always fighting, always risking everything, always tearing yourself up, but there's no reason to hurt yourself anymore, Jo! Come with me... Please, Jo..."_

"_I'll follow you to hell and back if I have to! I'll never leave your side, no matter what!"_

"_What happened to you? It's like you're not even the Jo I know anymore... My Jo always protected me! Whenever I was in trouble, she came to my rescue, and she never, ever let me leave her side!"_

"_No! That's not the kind of future I want! When I have you, I… I…"_

She violently shook her head, clearing it of the memories remaining. She simply could not bear to keep playing those scenes in her head. Even now, merely thinking about how Jo had knocked her out cold brought tears to her eyes. After everything they had been through, Meg was both infuriated and heartbroken that her friend had left her behind. Her stride personified her emotions, her shoulders were slumped while her arms hung limply at her side, and her head hanging forward, allowing her fringe to cover her eyes as an aura of sadness and anger drifted around her like a thick cloud, enveloping her in its embraces.

She stopped suddenly, recognizing her current location almost instantly. Glancing up, she bit back a cry of rage and heartbreak as she gazed upon the ruined building of the RAPT headquarters. The building was hardly a shadow of its former imposing image, now resembling ruins left untouched by any trace of humanity for years. Not a single wall of the towering building escaped damage, numerous cracks decorating the stronger walls near the ground floor while large chunks of the two towers were missing, undoubtedly blasted away by the explosion - or by Jo and Jango…

Shaking her head again, she glanced around her, observing the fallen parts of the building and the debris scattered around it. Several cybot remains lay crushed beneath the slabs of concrete and shards of glass, and several bodies dotted the scene. She glanced up again, surveying the rest of the building, before her eyes fell on something that made them widen substantially.

Jo's scarf…

Jo's scarf was fluttering in the breeze circulating around the tower's upper levels, tattered and torn from the explosion while it hung on one of the poles protruding from what remained of that level's floor. No sooner had she laid eyes upon it, than a large knot formed in her throat and she felt the tears sting her eyes once again. With tremendous effort, she gulped it down and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

"_From now on, Meg, you must fight for someone who needs you. That is what your future holds. A future you must now search for._"

_She's right…_ Meg thought, looking longingly at the scarf. _I need to find someone who I can protect now… Someone who needs me…I'll do as you asked, Jo. Just because it's you…_ She glanced at the scarf one last time. "Goodbye, Jo." She whispered sadly.

A crunch on the small pieces of concrete behind her made her jump.

"Who're you sayin' g'bye to now, girlie?" A gruff voice asked behind her, and the young girl spun around to see six of the survivors glaring at her with wicked grins on their faces. "Ain't you a bit too old for imaginary friends?" He smirked, training his rifle on her.

Meg glared at him, ignoring her shaking knees while working up her confidence. "I don't need to answer to you!" She said defensively, backing away a few steps.

"Pity, that is…" The man smirked again. "Seein' as Glenford's gone, we're outta a job. That means we can loot what's left of this place to our hearts content. And right now…" He grinned lecherously. "You're part of the spoils." Meg gulped audibly as she stepped back again; almost hopping away from them, but the leader managed to swipe at her, fixing a grip on her arm. "And jus' where are you goin', missy?" He asked with another smirk. "You ain't goin'a deny us our fun, are ya?" He said. She tried to kick the man in the groin, but her attack was too transparent, as the man swiftly caught her leg, delivering a punch to her jaw, sending her sprawling over the concrete as he tossed his gun away, stripping off his jacket and armour. "See that, boys?" He chuckled, tucking his thumbs into his belt. "We got's ourselves a fighter." The other five soldiers grinned like hungry wolves, stalking their prey until the last possible moment before pouncing.

Meg cringed and covered her head with her hands, curling into a foetal position as the leader stepped closer. _No…_ She mentally pleaded._ Not this… Anything but this… Jo… Please… Help me…_ A series of slight humming sounds, followed by a collective gasp from the soldiers, caused her to open her eyes. Eleven green lasers hovered above her, ending in green dots resting on the RAPT soldiers' foreheads, and several loud _thump_s behind her drew her attention. Slowly, she craned her neck around.

Nothing.

She squinted. _I could've sworn - _Her eyes widened as her thoughts ended abruptly. The areas where the lasers were coming from were distorting slightly, and eleven silhouettes became visible. With a few loud snaps and crackles of electricity, the silhouettes solidified into hulking men, each standing over seven feet tall. Their whole bodies were covered by assault armour, ranging from thick, sturdy vests to cast-iron shin guards and shiny arm pads. The material that was visible seemed carbon-printed, as black as their armour. Unique helms covered their whole head, leaving only a small ellipse where their faces should have been visible. Weird, earphone-like apparatuses complimented the balaclava-like helms they wore, covering their ears as a small aerial stuck up from the right earmuff. Solid, tactical masks covered their faces, seemingly clipping into the rims of the ellipses that opened the facial areas of their helms, with large, protruding goggles welded to the eye sockets. Meg gulped at theweapons in their hands, making out an assault rifle and a grenade launcher - apparently pump-action - between the mess of barrels, muzzles and steel. Two others carried larger guns, seeming like multi-barrelled cannons, held in both hands as the belt of ammo traced back into large steel containers on their backs. She quickly noted the blue screen atop each multi-cannon. The last man held some kind of fifty-caliber gun, fed by a rather long box of ammo. It was almost as long as he was…

"Up against the wall. Now." The soldier leading the group barked, in a monotonous voice marred by static and robotic tones.

"The hell we are!" The RAPT soldiers' leader spoke up, placing his finger on the trigger of his gun. "What the hell gives you the right to -?"

Meg jumped when a soft, harsh _bang_ escaped from the tip of the armoured man's rifle, resulting in the leader's head whipping back, arcs of blood sprouting from his forehead as his body fell lifelessly to the ground. Two more bangs, much louder this time, rang in her ears as two more of the RAPT survivors flew backwards, off their feet. She ignored the feelings of disgust and nausea at seeing the large holes blown in their chests as their bodies arched towards the ground, kicking up dust as they landed. The other three survivors looked at the armoured men in fear. One turned to run, immediately receiving a bullet to the back of his head. Meg felt herself begin to quiver at the acts of cold-hearted murder she was witnessing now. The goggles and the lack of a mouth on their masks made the men seem that much more heartless, as the two RAPT survivors' weapons clattered to the ground. The two men fell to their knees, one of them sobbing loudly as he bowed lowly before their assailants, begging for his life and claiming that he had a daughter who was turning three in a week.

The attacker's leader lowered his weapon, but his comrades kept their weapons trained on the two soldiers. "Zero-Team to Command." The leader spoke as he placed the tips of his fore- and middle fingers on the side of his helm. "We have unidentified tangos on site, four dropped and two POW's. Requesting viable protocol." He fell silent for a few seconds, before speaking again. "Loud and clear, command." He lowered his fingers from the left earmuff and turned to his comrades. "Kill them."

Meg's scream failed to leave her throat as the armoured soldiers each pulled the trigger of their weapons, purposely emptying their clips into the begging survivors' bodies. She felt nausea push up from her stomach again as the bullets ripped their bodies apart, looks of shock and disbelief still etched onto their lifeless faces. She slammed her eyes shut, uttering a weak whimper as she covered her ears to block out the shots. Loud clicks emanated from the guns a few seconds after her futile attempt to shut the sounds out. She tentatively looked up, deliberately turning her head in the opposite direction of where the soldiers' bodies laid, to meet the leader of the armoured men's gaze. Watching her through his goggles, he placed his fingers on his earmuff again. "Zero-Team reporting. Tangos have been neutralized." A short pause followed, before Meg felt the man's gaze intensify through the lenses of his goggles. "Affirmative, command." He said with his robotic voice, gaze still fixed on her. "The specimen is secure, and partially unharmed." He nodded once. "Affirmative. Zero-Team out."

He looked down on Meg's fallen form, and observed the look of confusion on her face. "We were tasked with retrieving you." He said sternly. "Do not resist and you will come to no harm." She tried to speak, but the man interrupted her. "As of now, all your rights and privileges are suspended until further notice. You will have no access to friends, family, or any other contact." She looked at him in disbelief. He had technically just saved her, and now he was telling her that she was going to be kidnapped again? "Restrain her and secure her for long-distance transportation." The man told two his comrades. "The rest of you, keep watch." He warned. "Command doubts a mere explosion could kill the Genocide Angel. Fan out, five meter spread. I want the sniper dead centre, with the two support gunners covering his flanks. The rest of you, form a perimeter around us and await the chopper. Steel yourselves, men." He said sternly. "The GA cannot be far…"

* * *

The rubble covering the top floors of the RAPT ruins shook and trembled violently, sending small pebbles of debris tumbling from the spire of broken concrete. With a sudden crash, several large chunks of debris flew forwards, shortly followed by large piece of steel slightly resembling a battered chest plate. From the gap in the debris, two female figures rose from the dust, coughing and panting. Their hair, varying from silver to black, slowly danced in the wind passing through the upper levels as their torn clothes swayed from side to side. Jo and Sei had survived.

"Are you okay?" Jo asked Sei as she set her down on one of the large chunks of concrete.

"I'm fine…" She sighed, clutching two of her gunshot wounds."I can't say the same for Jango, though. The explosion almost destroyed him."

"We need to get help for you." Jo said, glancing at the destruction. "You won't hold out for long like this. We -" Sudden screams from outside, significantly lower than they were, caused the gunslinger's eyes to widen."Meg…" She quickly whipped her head in the direction of the sound, spotting a large hole in the wall. Scurrying over to it, her face contorted into a mask of anger at what she saw.

* * *

Meg's cry for help died out in her throat as she received a steel boot to her stomach. The impact made her arms slide from the other two soldiers' grip, and she felt herself falling backwards. A shockwave of pain pulsed thorough her head as she hit the tarmac face-first, only to be plucked up by her collar a second later. The soldier angrily tossed her back to where the others were waiting, and just as she found her footing again, one of the 'support gunners' jammed the multi-barrelled weapon he wielded into her back, knocking her forwards onto her stomach.

"I told you not to resist." The leader spoke, walking toward her. "My commander needs you for his work, and you _will_ comply." He said sternly. The last thing Meg saw was the man raising his boot into the air, before bringing it down on her face. The sharp impact of the boot's sole only stung for a minute, before darkness took her in.

Jo snarled at the armoured man from her perch, the remains of the concrete cracking under her grip. Sei had limped over to her side during the event below. "Go." She said, gripping her side. "She needs you more than I do." Casting a last glance at the soldiers, she snarled again. But her anger suddenly dissipated as the sniper locked eyes with her.

"Contact! Upper floors!" He called to his team, effortlessly swinging his large sniper rifle upwards and firing once. Jo grabbed Sei and ducked to the side, eyes widening as the bullet tore a hole the size of a bowling ball in the wall she had hid behind moments before. The sniper fired again, and Jo plucked Sei up just as another bullet tore a new hole in the floor. Jo wordlessly sprinted to the elevator, ignoring the sniper's bullets carving up the floor behind them as she quickly swiped her remaining gun, grimacing slightly at seeing the other crushed under a piece of wall. She stopped in front of the elevator.

"Wait here." She told Sei, sitting the woman down on the floor. "I'll be back soon." She turned to the elevator shaft and slowly pried the doors open, ignoring the pain shooting through her right arm and her side. "Now there's gonna be hell to pay…"

Jo carefully approached the street where the men were holding Meg, cautiously tiptoeing behind walls and wreck of cybots and vehicles as she inched closer. _That sniper's rifle is dangerous…_ She thought as she quickly devised a battle plan. _Even at point blank range, he just needs one shot. If one bullet could cover the distance from the ground to the top floor of a skytower it must be a very high calibre rifle, so cover is useless if I'm found…_ She winced softly as pain shot through her ribs and she slid along one of the wrecks. She was close enough to hear the ramblings of their robotic voices, but she was still too far to hear exactly what they were saying.

With a quick roll, she left the cover of the wrecked cybot and landed with her back to a pillar, half the top blasted away during the explosion. A small, though fairly sturdy wall sprouted from the side of the pillar, and lead on towards the clearing. Keeping to low crouch, she followed the wall to the clearing, and stopped when she clearly heard the men's voices.

"You two, get out the motion trackers. I want smokescreens equipped to all of you, as well as flash grenades should the operation go haywire. Remember, weak or not, this is still a Genocide Angel we are facing. We cannot fail the commander." He said. No sooner had he ended his sentence, than a gunshot rang from behind him, followed by a loud _crack_ and a grunt. Thick white liquid oozed from the wound formed in the back of one of his comrades' heads as he toppled forwards, directly into the sniper. The sniper quickly ducked back, but the fallen soldier landed on his rifle, pulling it down with his dead weight. Another gunshot ended the sniper's life, as a bullet pierced his mask and more white liquid spewed forth from the wound. The remaining soldiers whipped their heads around just in time to see Jo ducking back behind the wall, avoiding one of the soldiers' bullets. "Open fire!" The leader yelled, taking aim and using his rifle grenade launcher to blast a portion of the wall away with a loud bang. "Tear that wall down!" He yelled to the support gunners.

Jo ignored her cover and broke into a sprint as she heard the gunners spool the chainguns, flying from the spot where she had crouched only seconds before a roar of automatic fire ate through the wall in a hail of lead. Running as fast as she could, she blind-fired her pistol at the two behemoths, nicking one in the arm and the other in his ribs. She snarled at seeing that they didn't even flinch, and quickly ducked behind the wreck of a cybot, sheltering her from the storm of lead barrelling her way. Reloading her gun, she devised a plan as the automatic fire continued. Several explosions rocked the wreck, shifting it backwards, and the earth rumbled as some of the soldiers' grenades detonated close to her.

"Did we get her?" She heard one ask as the gunfire stopped. "I track zero movement."

"Me too. It looks like that from here too." Just then, Jo smirked as her plan came to her. With a strong kick, she caused a plate of metal to fall near the side of the wreck. Her smirk widened when the soldiers opened fire on that side while she darted to the other. Through the gaps, she made out a small gap between the holes in the support gunners' backpacks where the ammo belt came from, and the metal sleeve covering it. _Just wide enough for a bullet_…

She shot from her cover with unbelievable speed, and took aim just as one of the support gunners noticed her, swinging his large weapon around, widening the gap and exposing the hole in his steel backpack as he did so. _Welcome to Hell, bastard!_ She mentally screamed as the slide of her pistol rocked back, discharging a hot piece of lead at the soldier.

_**BOOM!**_

Her bullet collided with the large portion of belt left within the backpack, causing all the bullets within it to discharge in a cacophony of _bangs_ and loud _clangs_. Large holes appeared on the backpack as the bullets within it shot in all directions. The white blood coursing through his veins sprayed in all directions as the lead tore him apart, eating into the other support gunner and two normal gunners near him. Jo grinned, murderous gleam shining in her eyes as she watched the four soldiers fall dead. _Down to six…_

Quickly ducking behind another wreck, she could hear the soldiers cursing at her for killing their teammates. _Just hold on, Meg… I'm almost there… _A sudden whooshing sound made the girl perk up. "What the -"

_**BOOM!**_

Spires of flame shot into the sky as Jo's cover was blown to bits, sending her flying backwards as she crashed into the side of the RAPT headquarters, cracking the concrete as her head connected with it. With her vision swimming, she quickly rolled behind another low wreck, ears ringing as a sudden loud whirring sound mixed with the gunshots. Gulping slightly as she looked up, she just barely discerned the form of some kind of helicopter hovering above them. Shaking her head to clear her vision, she glanced up again and grimaced.

The helicopter was unlike anyone she had ever seen. Her eyes traced the wide, swooping cockpit, taking not of the two repeating cannons mounted there, and traced its metallic curves to the rotors mounted on both its wings. She frowned when she saw the rocket pods mounted under them, and anger ignited in her eyes again as she saw the large holding bay at the back of the helicopter. The leader quickly beckoned to it to land, but Jo had to duck again as it paused, firing at her with the cannons. Her cover, a pile of rubble, hardly lasted a few seconds before a bullet grazed her arm, leaving a shallow cut. Quickly darting to her left, she grunted as the bullets came dangerously close to her heels, blasting large chunks into the ground. Forced to get away from the deadly hail of gunfire, she darted down the side of the building as the helicopter ceased fire and touched down.

She grimaced again as one of the soldiers slung Meg's body over his shoulder and started walking to the chopper, which was inching closer to landing, rendering its cannons useless. _Hurry up… Come on!_ Jo mentally pleaded, gritting her teeth. _Land, damn it! _Several bullets chewed at the small pillar she was hiding behind, and she spotted the remaining five soldiers firing at her. Ducking back, she quickly reloaded her pistol. _Damn it, damn it, damn it!_ She swore to herself. The helicopter refused to land, choosing to wait until the soldier was closer.

A loud _thump_ caused relief to wash over her face briefly. That sound - steel on concrete - she knew all too well. Gritting her teeth again, she shot from her cover, seeing the soldiers file towards the helicopter. The leader craned his head around, and saw Jo running at them, weapon drawn and ready to fire. With a curt nod to the soldier standing at the hatch, he took Meg from his comrade and tossed her into the helicopter, and walked back. _What are they doing!_ Jo frowned as she saw the leader and his men getting into formation, and the leader made a motion with his hand to the pilot, who nodded and saluted him. The rotors whirred to life, and Jo fought a gasp when she found out what they were doing.

"They're giving up their lives?" She asked aloud, frowning and gritting her teeth. "That won't stop me!" She yelled at them. The leader kicked up one of the fallen soldiers' assault rifle, and took aim at her, his men following suit. Jo underestimated their concentrated fire, as a bullet from the leader's gun embedded itself into her thigh as they opened fire. Forced to duck again, she squeezed off three more shots, dropping one of the soldiers as she landed behind another slab of concrete. Hanging around the side, she continued her battle against the soldiers before hearing the helicopter's rotors whirring faster and faster. It was going to take off soon.

Jo's adrenaline hiked as her heart hammered in her ears, and she ground her teethas the purple tattoo on her arm glowed brightly. Another murderous gleam took appeared in her eyes, staying there this time as she shot from her hiding place and sprinted towards the soldiers, biting back a scream of rage as she took aim. The soldiers' weapons started to lay slack in their arms as they gazed upon the girl charging at them, ready to tear them limb from limb if they stood in her way. The very look in her face was enough to make them forget their goal and quiver in fear. However, their leader tossed his rifles aside, drew his small assault pistol, cocking it as he switched it to automatic, and unsheathed his large combat knife just as the helicopter took off.

That was all they saw. Uttering the battle cry she had been repressing, Jo let loose on them with a blaze of smouldering lead, firing three to five times in each soldier's direction, mutilating their faces as her bullets ate through their masks. Enraged, the leader started sprinting at her, drawing his blade back and aiming at her, squeezing the trigger. Jo accepted his little challenge, quickly scooping up a small steel pipe as she charged at him, locking her eyes with his.

She hardly felt the bullets ripping at her arms and legs, instead focusing on how many of her bullets she could engrave into the leader's body. Seven of hers met their mark, burying themselves in his chest as his white blood squirted from the wounds in small jets. A loud click from both their guns signalled an empty cartridge, and they tossed their guns away, preparing for hand-to-hand combat. With a loud clang, their arms shook as their weapons collided. Sparks flew as the pipe slid off the sharp end of the leader's blade, and Jo quickly aimed a backhand swing at him, resulting in a loud _clang_ as the pipe hit the jagged side of the knife. The leader threw her weapon back, and Jo majestically arched into a flip as he lunged at her with his blade. He grimaced when his knife flew over her stomach, and grunted when her boot struck the underside of his chin, propelling him up into the air, knife flying from his hand. After he landed with a loud _thud_, she turned her sights back on the helicopter, just in time to see the few spots left of it disappear into thin air through a cloaking device as its rotors went silent.

In a panic, she snatched her gun and reloaded it, running in the direction of the helicopter and shooting at the area she last saw it flying. No bullets met their mark, and her lack of stamina finally caught up to her as her tattoo dissipated. She fell to her knees, panting loudly as her gun fell from her hand. The bullet wounds were beginning to sting and the pain in her legs and ribs was returning. She looked back up at the sky, seeing and hearing nothing. A loud grunt from behind her forced her to look around, and she saw the leader standing up - without his mask.

Even through her sorrow, Jo could not bite back a slight gasp. His face was undoubtedly human, but it lacked any sustenance. It was so atrophied that his bones seemed like the face instead, as his skin sunk so deeply into the hollows of his jaws and eye sockets that it seemed to disappear into them. It lacked teeth and eyelids, and his nose was only two vertical slits above its mouth. Glaring at her with his lidless black eyes, his golden irises met with her red, hate-filled eyes. "She is gone, Genocide Angel." He said in the same robotic voice. "You have failed her. Now, she will be taken to my commander for further analysis. There is nothing you can do anymore." He said as he turned around and started to walk away.

"Is that so…" She hissed, glaring at him as another murderous look shot through her eyes, staying there as she stood up. With another purple flash, her tattoo appeared on her shoulder as the stood up and charged at him. The leader glanced around and saw her enraged face, charging straight at him. Even without his eyelids, Jo could see fear and surprise shooting through them as he picked up into a sprint, trying to escape from her. "No, you don't!" She roared at him, scooping up his combat knife and throwing it at him with all her might. A loud scrape reached her ears as the blade cut clean through his armour, embedding itself in his back as she tackled him to the ground, empty gun held by the barrel.

"Where are they taking her!" She demanded, grabbing him by the rim of his helm and pulling his head back. "Answer me!"

"I will not tell you!" He answered. "I would never betray my commander!"

With a loud cry, she raised her gun and slammed the bottom of its handle into the side of his head. "Tell me!" She cried, beating him with her gun again. "Tell me where they're going!" She yelled, delivering two more blows to his head.

"You…" The robotic soldier spat, several arcs of white blood spewing from his mouth. "You'll never see her again… Those choppers… are jet choppers. They are too fast for you… They're halfway to Hiroshima by now…" He grinned, allowing more of his blood to drip down his chin. "You'll never catch them… You'll never see your girl again… She was the final component of my commander's research, and believe me, he will _not_ let her go easily." Jo's face contorted into a mask of rage as a female voice rang out from his earmuff. "_Shut down imminent. System shutting down in three, two, one…"_ With a loud buzz, the leader's golden irises became a ghostly shade of white.

"No…" She grunted, tightening her grip on his neck. "No! Why are they going there? What are they going to do to Meg!" She yelled at him, to no avail. Even his blood had stopped circulating, and his body only hung limply in her clenched fist. She felt her breathing increase, and the hand holding the gun started to shake as she saw red.

With an enraged cry, she raised her gun and brought it down on the leader's face. A loud _crack_ sounded from his face as the handle of the gun broke clean through his forehead, spraying more of his white blood onto her body. But she didn't stop there. Letting her frustration pour out in the form a loud roar, she raised the gun and slammed it into his face again, and again, and again, gritting her teeth and slamming her eyes shut as she continued to destroy her hapless victim's face. She did not know how the leader's face looked, or how long she stood there beating him with her gun. She lost track of time, standing there, letting all her anger and frustration pour out. Suddenly, a hand wrapped around her arm, stopping her in her tracks.

"That's enough, Jo." Sei said sadly, worry dominating her features. "I saw and heard everything."

"Let go." Jo said harshly, pulling her arm from the older woman's grasp and turning around, starting down the street.

"You can't fight them alone, Jo!" Sei called, wincing at her injuries as she hobbled after her. "These guys aren't from RAPT!"

"Watch me." Jo said angrily, holstering her gun as she stalked over to her other one, lying near one of the soldiers' lifeless body. "They'll pay for this…"

"Jo, listen to me!" Sei called again. "These people are organised! Those chainguns were tracking your movements, they must have had some kind of tracking equipment in them. If they can follow your body like that, you're as good as dead!"

"I don't care!"

"Dammit, listen to me, Jo." Sei sighed, grabbing the younger girl by the arm again. "You're in no condition to fight, especially against those people! You saw what that sniper's rifle could do, chances are they'll put you down before you even have the compound in your sight!"

"I'll figure something out!" Jo yelled at her.

"Like you figured something out now, before they took her? Like you did when you left her behind!" Jo fell silent and froze in her tracks at Sei's accusation. "Look where your spur-of-the-moment plans lead you today, Jo! Meg is _gone_, halfway across Japan by now! How are you going to get there before they leave? And in your current state…" The older woman's voice died out in her throat as she clutched her bullet wounds. "This isn't a rescue where you can get her back simply by shooting at people, Jo…"

"I… I know…" Sei's eyes widened at the shaky tone Jo's voice. "But you _didn't_ hear everything… That man… He said that they were going to do something to Meg… If that happens…"

"It won't!" Sei insisted fiercely, seizing Jo by her shoulders. "I never said you wouldn't win. I said you _can't _win in this condition. Look at yourself! You'll faint even before you've travelled two blocks!"

"I must find her, Sei…" Jo said with a downcast look. "I… I already let her down once. If I let it happen again…"

"You won't." Sei insisted again. "You'll get her back, just like every other time she was kidnapped. But you _must_ rest first."

"I can't!" Jo said sternly. "I just can't...What if they… What if they leave?"

"They won't get away, Jo." Sei answered. "That chopper cannot go further then Hiroshima on one tank of fuel, and seeing as there's only one runway still operational there it'll take a while for them to get clearance to leave. We _will_ get her back, Jo." She reassured. "I promise you." Jo's shoulders slumped as she looked down dejectedly.

"Fine." She gave in. "I'll rest. But only for a few hours." Sei was about to answer with a smile when the payphone near them rang. The box itself was smashed, but the phonewas still in good condition.

"Probably another punk who doesn't know what happened here." Sei muttered. "Let it ring. We need to get out of here."

"Wait…" Jo said, stalking over to the phone and kneeling besides it. Carefully picking it up, she placed the receiver by her ear. "Who is this?"

"_It's about time, Jo."_ A smooth female voice answered, causing the girl to frown as she opened her mouth to speak. "_Better wipe that frown off your face, or I might hang up…_" Jo's eyes widened in shock at hearing this, and she immediately stood up and glanced around. "_Now listen closely. You have questions, I have answers, and I'm willing to share. Firstly, inform your boss that your friends, Takane and Leo, are safe and sound."_

"Why did you contact me?" Jo demanded, tightening her grip on the phone as Sei stood next to her, listening in on the conversation.

"_All in due time, Jo. I'm calling now to inform you that the people who took Meg are planning on using a state-of-the-art stealth plane to flee from Tokyo."_

"Flee from Tokyo! But -"

"_Do you want answers or not, Jo?_"

"Y-Yes, I do, bu-"

"_Then shut up and stop interrupting. The planes were planned and designed in the United States, but were only built here in Japan due to smaller labour costs and the rather 'active' crime rate here. They will need three days to register those planes, and they need to meet with an investor as well, so you have a week, give or take, before the plane takes off." _Jo's face visibly brightened at hearing this. _"Also, I have here an invitation, for you and your boss. Leo and Takane are already here in Hiroshima, waiting for you._"

"Invitation? To what?" Jo asked warily.

"_On behalf of the B.S.A.A, Jo, I invite you to a little 'get-together' in a restaurant near the edge of Hiroshima. As I said, Leo and Takane are already here, and if that's not enough to get you here, I can give you a… _taste_ of the information I have concerning your girlfriend's kidnappers. Believe me when I say you'll need it…_"

"What!" Jo immediately frowned. "What do you know about them!"

"_My, demanding, aren't we?" _The woman on the other side of the phone scoffed._ "But a promise is a promise, so a taste you shall receive. Simply ask your computer friend to gather data on 'Umbrella Pharmaceuticals'. There's very little information, but it should give you a brief idea of what Meg's captors intend to do to her._" The woman cleared her throat. "_There's already a hotel suite booked in your names for when you get here, as well as a functioning cybot. Simply go to the Italian hotel 'Rosso Angelos' and ask for the B.S.A.A reservation. Information on the meeting place will be in a dossier on your beds. Well, that's all for now. Until next time, Jo._"

"Wait!" Jo called into the phone, sighing when she didn't hear the woman hang up. "At least tell me who you are…"

"_Oh! How rude of me, I clean forgot, Jo. I'm very sorry about that._" The woman chuckled, before answering.

"_My name is Jill Valentine…_"

* * *

"…_rest. But only for a few hours!_"

"Good show… Very good show." A male voice, carrying a perfect English accent, echoed in the dark room as the events of the extraction played out on the large screen. Beneath it, Meg lay strapped to a large table, similar to an operating table, with large, circular devices at its top and bottom. The young girl stirred in her sleep as the man spoke to the screen. "It seems that you are more competent than I imagined, Jo. Dispatching eleven of my synthetics is a hard feat…" Meg groaned as her eyes fluttered open, and she tried to sit up. She uttered a confused squeak when she felt the chainmail strap pressing down on her chests, and yelped when she realised that there were shackles around her wrists and ankles, shivering as the cool breeze circulating through the vents brushed over her skin. "You're awake." The man said. "Welcome."

"Wh…Where am I? What I doing here!" She asked fearfully, voice pitching as she surveyed the dark room. The only sources of light were the large screen, and the bright light shining down on the table. Then she spotted a pair of sunglasses glinting in the darkness. "And who the hell are you!"

"I am the man who will soon create a new genesis." The man answered cryptically, stepping forwards. Meg surveyed the man from head to toe, feeling slightly unnerved at the strong gaze he was giving her. His blonde hair was neatly combed back, and his dark, carbon-printed trench coat swayed in the breeze as the leather attire beneath it glinted in the beam of light. "And you," he said, pointing at Meg with a gloved hand, "are going to help me with that."

"And why you I help you!" She demanded, trying to sit upwards. The white sheet covering her slipped down a bit, and she yelped again when she realised she was clad only in her underwear. "Y-You pervert!"

"Really…" The man frowned, pushing his shades back up with one finger. "Honestly, Meg, kindergarten insults do nothing to me." He said, digging his hands into his pockets. "As for helping me, you are a crucial part to my research, one of three-hundred subjects. However, I get the feeling that you will be the most successful one."

"I don't want this!" Meg yelled at him. "I don't want to be part of this 'new genesis' of yours! I just want to go home…"

"Too bad." The man said darkly. "I need you to determine whether my research is a success this time." He gazed at her again. "And be it by your free will or my forced hand, you _will_ play your part in my plan to the last letter."

"What if I don't?" Meg growled. "I'm not scared of you!" The man chuckled at this.

"You don't have a choice in the matter, dear girl. In a few days, Uroboros II will be implanted into you. After that, you will become my puppet, whether you want to be or not. Besides," The man smirked darkly, "your girlfriend isn't invincible, Meg. Especially if I send someone 'special' to deal with her…" He turned around and faced the darkness as he started to walk away. A cylindrical glass lens immediately covered the operating table, and Meg started yelling again as a gray-white gas filled that chamber. The glass muffled her cries and sobs, under everything fell silent. The man smirked as he melted into the darkness. "Yes… You are the one I need…" His voice floated around the room, as Meg's eyelids fluttered in her sleep.

"With you on my side… The world will soon see that Albert Wesker is back!"

* * *

A/N: Aaand we're done! Chapter 1 is all wrapped up. I just want to send a special word of thanks to Cloverfield for betareading this and helping me with my general Burst Angel research. You're Awesome! Let no-one tell you otherwise!

Well... Do you guys want more? Or think I should burn it? Let me know what you thought; it's the only way I'll know. Thanks for taking the time to read this. I pray it didn't disappoint!

Stay sic!  
-Slipkn0T- out.


	2. A New Alliance

**CHAPTER 2**  
**A New Alliance**

The supposedly abandoned airstrip emanated a degree of noise strong enough to shatter the midnight calm that the dark sky and pale moon normally brought on, each silhouette on the runway and around the buildings actively carrying out their duties as darkness cast by the black clouds obscured their bodies, each one ducking and weaving in between the beams of brilliant white the moon cast upon the once-deserted structure. Hammers clanged, cylinders grinded in their chambers, exhaling the gas built up within, and circuitry buzzed as the black-clad workers hastily prepared for the imminent take-off of the prototype stealth aircraft, wasting no time in configuring the software within, loading the pods with missiles and hastily preparing the cryogen chambers for each of their commander's beloved test subjects. Several men in white coats and HAZMAT suits slowly allowed the cold fog to pour from the multitude of containers stacked around the obscenely large runway, cautiously using crude apparatuses to extract the many vials and test tubes within the icy containers, painstakingly placing them neatly within another, which was quickly and efficiently transported to a small lift, that seemed to descend into a long shaft.

A flash of glinting black briefly appeared in the dark windows of the control tower, and the lenses of an expensive pair of sunglasses lit up every time the moon flowed into the large control room. With a slight huff, Albert Wesker pushed his shades up the bridge of his nose, his features contorting into a smug expression as the corner of his mouth twitched upward into a wicked smirk. Ignoring the many fools around him within the communications tower, he oversaw the activities below like a hawk - constantly, efficiently and sternly as his predatory gaze seemed to seep from behind the edges of his lavish eyewear. He paid little heed to the fully clad soldiers behind him, often only bothering them when he thought one of the simpletons below needed to be disposed of, and even then, hardly a word came from him, his order coming only in the form of a quick snap of his fingers.

That was, until the familiar hiss of the blast-doors filled the room, and the heavy footsteps slammed onto the steel flooring. Wesker smirked as he heard the deep, gruff voice bark at the soldiers in a brash, unknown tongue as the man walked towards him, stopping dutifully a few feet away. "Enver…" Wesker acknowledged the man with a simple nod of his head as he turned around. "I take it your trip to Spain was fruitful?"

"Very much so, Albert." The man, Enver, replied with a thick African accent as he stepped into the light of the fluorescent tube above them. The white hue it gave off illuminated his dark skin, and added a sinister gleam to his deathly white eyes, leaving only a slight glimmer in the absence of a pupil and an iris. The man quickly scratched as his full, messy beard with a gloved hand, and turned to struggle with his backpack, allowing his swept-back dreadlocks to cascade down his shoulder, obscuring half of the beige tank top he wore, some even dangling past his belt, blending with the darker patches of the desert-themed cargo pants he wore. Even as synthetics, Wesker smirked when he saw his would-be 'soldiers' waver at seeing Enver's muscular body, some trying to remain unnoticed as they stepped back. "It would seem that the Los Illuminados had a fair grasp of what to do with Las Plagas. Fanatical freak or not, Osmund Saddler cannot be accused of sloppy work - these few subjects here prove it." He said, handing a black dossier with the words "H.C.F." on the cover. "I suspect you'll find Project U3 and the Verdugo specimens rather entertaining. There's also a file on your old employee, Jack Krauser, and a record of what they did to his arm."

"Interesting…" Wesker pondered aloud as his eyes flitted across the multitude of macabre photos in the dossier as he quickly took in all the information. "These are perfect." He said suddenly, curtly closing the dossier. "Combine these with the... _friends_ I brought out of Africa, and our dear Jo is in for a rather rough time…" He smirked as he turned to the door. "How long will it take you to create a '_Verdugo_' for me?" He asked, pausing at the large blast doors.

"In this day and time?" Enver grinned. "Give me eight hours."

"You have nine." Wesker nodded as he turned back to the doors. "I want nothing less than perfection, Enver." He warned. "The Genocide Angel has already been contacted by the B.S.A.A. She will arrive here soon to try to reclaim her friend. She must not succeed…

* * *

"Whoa… Just… Whoa…" Even Sei's eyes widened at how lavish the penthouse suite of the Rosso Angelos hotel turned out to be, even in the harsh conditions of the modern era they lived in. The living room itself seemed to emit a most poignant smell of luxury, greatly accentuating the gilded designs of practically everything within it, be it the silk curtains or the marble counters and sinks, and the almost royally designed beds in each individual bedroom. "Even I'm not used to this…" Sei's eyes widened slightly as she gazed at the suite. "Are we sure this is the correct room?"

"Don't jinx it, Sei!" Amy giggled as she hopped onto one of the large recliners around the fireplace. "It's not every day a weird, foreign group of people pay for stuff like this…" She grinned. "We're gonna live like kings here - for free!" She giggled. "This almost makes being a few hours late worth it…"

"Don't forget why we're here in the first place, Amy." Sei sighed as she took a seat on one of the large sofas in front of an impossibly long television. "Did you find anything on that tip Jill Valentine gave us?" She asked, quickly hitting a button on the remote resting on the table next to her, and the screen immediately burst into a spectrum of different colours.

"What, about Umbrella?" Amy asked, eyeing the television as the ads continued to pop up on the screen. "Nope. Nothing. Whoever they are, they must be hiding themselves real good…" She mused, deliberately trying to remain as passive as possible as she saw Jo's eyes fall slightly. Wordlessly, the gunslinger stood up and disappeared into one of the rooms. Almost as soon as the girl vanished, Amy shot from her seat with speed unknown to be present in a small girl, and quickly leaned over the back of the sofa, close to Sei's ear. "I lied. I got quite a lot of dirt on Umbrella, but I won't say anything unless you confiscate Jo's guns…" She whispered fearfully, eyes darting back to the door of the bedroom Jo currently occupied. "Believe me when I say she's gonna flip when she hears what I found, and I want a really good chance of running away without any bullet wounds when that happens…" Then she promptly fled back to her seat, placing her laptop on her crossed legs as she flipped it open, expectantly gazing at Sei as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Um… Jo?" Sei hesitantly called as she gave Amy a confused look, fully turning to face the young girl. "Could you come here for a moment? Amy has something to say…" She called.

"Ahem!"

"Oh, and leave your guns!" Sei quickly put in, as they heard Jo's footsteps signal that she had turned around inside her room to put her guns away. She then quickly pulled the door open and entered the living room, standing behind another sofa as she glared at them with a slightly irritated look on her features. Sei smiled sheepishly at the display, and quickly turned back to face Amy.

"Please sit down, Jo." Amy sighed as she hit a few buttons on her keypad. "This is stressful enough for me without you towering over me with that scary face…" Oddly enough, Sei picked up, it seemed as though she was doing her utmost not to meet Jo's glare.

"You heard her, Jo." Sei sighed. "Take a seat and make yourself comfortable. This looks like it could take long."

"Why can't she sum it up?" Jo asked blankly, her glare intensifying slightly.

"'Cuz you'd kill me. And jump on my grave. And-"

"What Amy is trying to say," Sei quickly ushered the young girl to silence with her hand, "is that, seeing as Meg is involved here, the news might agitate you a bit." She said, as she beckoned to Jo to sit down. "If you're standing, there's no telling what you'll do." She said hopefully. Jo opted to glare at her for a while, before giving in and sitting down on the chair.

"Better?" She asked dryly.

"Much." Amy smiled nervously as she turned her attention to her screen. "Err… Let's see… Hah, here we go! 'Umbrella Pharmaceuticals, Inc.' Huge player in the medical world, founded in the late 1980's by Lord Ozwell E. Spencer, Doctor James Marcus, and Sir Edward Ashford. Huge name worldwide, spanning several markets such as pharmaceuticals, medical hardware… Ugh, duh… Defence, cosmetics, consumer products, and food sorts. Came to fall in the year 2003 after… Uh…" She shot a nervous glance at Jo, who frowned at her for pausing, and she immediately went back to reading. "Came to fall in the year 2003, forty-two years ago after being found guilty on various macabre activities related to clandestine markets such as… such as Genetic Engineering and Biological Weaponry."

She heard Sei gasp at this, but refused to look up, fearing Jo's reaction. "They were found guilty on numerous charges of mass murder after deliberately and accidentally releasing incredibly harmful viral strains into several areas, like the now-demolished Raccoon City, Rockfort Island, Sheena Island and Antarctica, and the deliberate release of hostile bio-organic weapons into populated areas to determine their combat ability by killing civilians. Other outbreaks include one onboard the Spencer Rain, an Umbrella-owned cruise ship, as well an outbreak in South America entitled Operation Javier, then the Umbrella Russian Stronghold in the Caucasus region, an outbreak in India, and lastly another outbreak in an airport in Harvardville, United States." She sighed. "So, in short, Umbrella was a company who made monsters to kill people, and viruses to turn other people into said monsters…"

Amy slowly looked up at them, seeing the shocked, almost disgusted look on Sei's face, and the look of building rage and worry on Jo's, which made her whip her head back to her screen. "That's horrible…" Sei spoke. "Those people cost so many lives… It's like times back then were no different to times today. How were they even allowed to do such things?" She asked.

"They weren't." Amy shrugged. "But they weren't 'not allowed' to do them, either. Seems the goody-two-shoes cover Umbrella used was to hide their experiments. I've got here a list of some of their more known victims. Let's see… Jennifer Trevor, experimented on and killed after little to no symptoms showed… Sir Edward Ashford himself, died after a disastrous viral infection… Lisa Trevor - Hell no! I read that one - not going in there again!" She huffed.

"Why not?" Sei asked, perplexed at the girl's sudden tantrum. "Is it that bad?"

"Yes it's that bad!" Amy whined. "And I know Jo will really kill me if she hears this…" She whimpered.

"Just read it." Jo said blankly as she slumped back in her chair. "I've heard too much already… So just carry on."

"Promise you won't kill me!"

"I will, if you don't get to it." Jo growled, the first signs of her increasing anger slipping through her lips.

"Okay, okay!" Amy whimpered as she hurriedly clicked on the link, waiting for a brief moment before starting to read aloud again. "Lisa Trevor, born to Ozwell E. Spencer's estate designer George Trevor. Apprehended by Umbrella forces shortly after Spencer decided to dispose of him. She was subjected to a Beta-type, or 'B-Strain', of one of Umbrella's viruses, and her mind collapsed shortly after due to her young age of twelve years, throwing her into insanity, as well as certain degrees of illiterate actions and primal, animalistic tendencies. Used as a guinea-pig for Umbrella's research, and injected with countless viruses during that time, including a parasite that supposedly granted her immortality. It is said that, by the time of the parasite's injection, Lisa was no longer human - her body was nothing but an amalgam of the viruses she was injected with, a moving cesspool of viral strains. Several employees who came forward after Umbrella's fall with information in return for their freedom, claim that experiments done on her were often 'gruesome beyond description' and that the multitude of viruses mutated her into a 'savage, beastly monster' instead of the normal girl she should've been." Slowly, she glanced at Jo wearing a smug, yet slightly fearful look. "Are you happy now?"

Jo did not respond, instead keeping her eyes on her knees as her fringe covered her eyes slightly. Even in her slumped state, the muscles in her arms, neck and stomach slowly started to contract as she balled her fists in anger. "What else?" She asked shakily, voice near-rabid with hatred as she kept her eyes hidden.

"Not much after that…" Amy said, a tad frightful of Jo's response. "It ends there… There's a bunch of 'See Also' links here, but they're all broken…" She said. "I told you, you wouldn't like it…" She said, closing her laptop. "But hey, there's an upside to all this…" She forced a smile. "Umbrella can't be responsible."

Jo slowly lifted her gaze from her knees, locking eyes with Amy. The small girl yelped softly at the amount of malice within them, quickly scurrying to Sei's side as she attempted to hide from the fires of the gunslinger's wrath. "What do you mean, 'they can't be responsible'?"

"Didn't you listen?" Amy asked, a scowl suddenly etching itself on her face. "Umbrella got shut down forty-two years ago. Edward Ashford died from a viral disaster, James Marcus was proclaimed dead - okay, I didn't mention that, but anyway… And Ozwell Spencer was found dead in his European Estate. The founders are dead, and the company itself has been shut down for more than forty years. It can't be them."

"Then why did Jill Valentine tell us to search for information on it?" Jo growled, relaxing slightly as Amy's words sunk into her mind. If Umbrella wasn't responsible, the chances were good that something as bad as what happened to their experiments, could not happen to Meg. At least, Jo hoped not.

"I dunno." Amy shrugged. "The links at the bottom referred to some other companies and events, like Los Illuminados, WilPharma, TriCell, U.S-"

"TriCell?" Sei suddenly cut her off with a puzzled look. "They're huge today… They're derived from three cells of Travis Trading, each cell representing one of the colours on the logo. Why would a company specializing in natural resources, trading and medicines conspire with Umbrella?"

"You can shoot me if I know." Amy shrugged. "I guess that's why this 'B.S.A.A.' wants to meet with us. If Umbrella was simply a taste of what they know, I'm sure they can fill in the gaps…" She suddenly tensed. "Speaking about the B.S.A.A… We were a few hours late, right?" She asked, and Sei nodded her answer slowly. "So… What time were we supposed to be there?"

"In twenty-two minutes." Jo answered nonchalantly as she gazed at the clock. "Twenty-one, sorry…" She turned her gaze back to Sei and Amy, and saw them glance at each other with looks of shock and sheer terror as they realized how late it had become. Slowly, both of them looked back at Jo with almost accusing looks. "What?" Jo shrugged, still a tad agitated at the news about Umbrella. Sei and Amy, however, hardly bothered to answer her. They simply shot from their seats, running to their rooms as they repeatedly exclaimed how late they were, before disappearing behind the doors of said bedrooms. Jo sighed as she apathetically reclined into the sofa. _This is going to be a long night…_ She thought irritably.

* * *

The sharp, white light illuminating the inside of the large containment cylinder sharply contrasted the dark, dank surroundings it was placed in, shadows futilely attempting to pierce the glass that covered it, eager to drown the cushioned interior and the sleeping girl resting upon it in complete darkness, as several loud footsteps echoed in the room, drifting from the oddly dressed people monitoring the small screens protruding from each one. The steady beeps of the medical hardware softly filled the cold air around it, as the girl within it breathed calmly as she slept. Around her small, circular cell, almost three-hundred identical units stood in a neat, orderly arrangement, all of them humming in unison as the monitors connected to them beeped and whirred. Slowly, one of the girls' eyes started to flutter open, a creak of white under the beautiful eyelids allowing a slight hint of blue to peer through them, staring past the few strands of red hair hanging attempting to obscure it.

Wesker smirked as he stood behind the two way mirror overlooking the subterranean chamber, seeing a few of the orderlies rush to the topmost container as one of them hastily attempted to switch on his radio. His smirk grew when he heard Enver chuckle behind him, and turned to face the large African man. "Once again, within my calculations." He grinned. "Subject 300Z12… I have the distinct feeling she will be the most successful of the lot."

"Mr. Wesker!" The orderly's voice suddenly sounded over the radio. "Sgt. Brandt! Is anyone there?" He asked. "Subject 300Z12 is waking up ahead of schedule. Request viable protocol?" Wesker simply beckoned to the radio with his hand as he retook his place at the mirror, gazing at the container holding 300Z12. Enver nodded at his commander's order, and briskly walked over to the radio.

"This is Sergeant Enver Brandt." He spoke into the radio. "Leave Subject 300Z12 be, and call in the armed guards. If she is awake, we may as well feed her now." He narrowed his eyes when he saw the soldiers march in, armed to their teeth as they dutifully stood around the container. "And tell those soldiers to watch how they handle her!" He barked into the microphone. "Z12 is a very dear specimen to Commander Wesker, and I will personally skin your leftovers after he is done with you, should you harm her! Be gentle!" He ordered, and promptly turned off the radio. "How such puppets can understand the complex orders you give them astounds me…" He sighed as he, too, stood behind the pane of glass, albeit a few inches behind him as he took up a respectful stance. "That specimen… Z12… What makes her so special, Albert?"

"As I said, I have the feeling she will be the most successful of this lot…" Wesker mused as he stared at the orderlies, now gently pulling the girl into a sitting position, attempting to lift her from her disoriented state. "I searched for a specimen such as this for years after my rebirth… And only now, in the accomplice of a Genocide Angel, no less, do I find the very foundation to the perfect being… Meg…" He smirked as he gazed at how the young girl was being force-fed. "That is why I created the T-Alpha virus. I merged the Progenitor virus with a T-Virus infected NE-Alpha parasite, and the results were shocking indeed…"

"It seems I've been away too long…" Enver commented. "The T-, G- and Progenitor viruses I know about, but T-Alpha? Care to explain how it worked?" He asked. "Are you trying to say that, by some marvel, the T-virus actually merge the NE-Alpha parasite? How is that even possible? You would need a host who has immunity to the T-virus to administer the parasite."

"And a host I have… Obtained her a few days ago, right before the RAPT disaster." Wesker smirked, snapping his fingers. On command, the large computer screen behind them lit up, and his smirk grew when he heard Enver gasp. Slowly, he turned around, savouring his subordinate's expression as his eyes fell on the photo of the sleeping young girl, white hair neatly splayed out behind her as the tattoo on her right shoulder, creeping down to her wrist and onto her cheek, glowed a sickly green hue as the veins on her face, chest and shoulders stood clearly visible, almost black under her milky skin. Speechless, Enver turned to face him.

"Is… Is that…" He gazed back at the screen. "M-Maria? B-But how…?"

"I have my ways and means, Enver." Wesker grinned as he once again turned back to the containment room. "Maria, much like Jo, is one-hundred percent immune to the T-virus. As you see, she had to be rendered unconscious in order for it to survive her abnormal metabolism, otherwise she'd have worked it out of her system as if it were a common cold. So I took advantage of this; I injected an overdose of T-virus strains into her body, and afterwards inserted an NE-Alpha parasite into her. While most hosts of this parasite would inevitably die within twenty minutes, it seems the T-Virus, mixed with her superior cells and DNA as a Genocide Angel, managed to decompose the parasite completely. I extracted this new strain from her, and injected it into some… unsuspecting hosts. The results, as I expected, were to be marvelled."

"So, using the old T-Virus in conjunction with Maria's DNA, you created a new T-virus…" Enver pondered. "Merging it with the NE-parasite, no less… It seems this one would be even more potent than William Birkin's G-virus…" He pondered.

"Actually, this was the one thing the G-virus lacked…" Wesker said smugly. "Hosts of the G-virus would mutate constantly, inevitably ending up a blob of messy entrails because of the constant adaption their body would have to perform. This virus, however, takes after the NE-parasite slightly. This one executes the exact same function of the NE-parasite, but only to a different extent."

"Wait…" Enver sighed as he thought about Wesker's information. "Seeing as the NE-Alpha parasite renders a person highly susceptible to control or suggestion, won't it do the same to a specimen's cells, as the T-Virus inserts it's genetic coding into any cell it makes contact with. Seeing as parts of the NE-Alpha parasite are still present in this new strain, that would result in… Controllable cells?" He asked, perplexed at the functions of this new virus.

"Not controllable, Enver…" Wesker grinned as he turned to face his subordinate, the fires of his ambitions burning brighter than even behind the dark lenses of his sunglasses. "It creates adaptable cells." He said darkly, smirking sinisterly. "Infusible cells…" He grinned maniacally. "Imagine the possibilities, Enver… Imagine a breed of human that held the neo-genetic structure capable of merging, fusing with any viral strain we develop, and in so doing, supplying said strain with a worthy host!"

"You mean a host that won't turn zombie when the T-virus injects…" Enver nodded, excitement growing on his dark face. "One that won't turn into a pile of blob when the G-virus enters their system, and one who won't lose it and mutate upon receiving a dose of the Progenitor Virus…" He grinned. "A host that won't…"

"That won't die upon receiving Uroboros…" Wesker grinned. "Think of what could happen, Enver; think of an Uroboros recipient accepting both the T- and G-viruses, as well as the Progenitor virus, to up the evolution even higher…"

"So this is what you were doing…"Enver chuckled. "Adjusting your plans of godhood to even further extents… This is miraculous, Albert… I see the genius here; if there are too little who are worthy of Uroboros, then you make them worthy…" He grinned. "This T-Alpha virus is gold… Your ideals shall soon see life…"

"Hopefully, Enver…" Wesker grinned as he turned back to the large room, where more orderlies were slowly streaming through the doors as more and more girls woke from their induced slumber, whining and moaning as the narcotics left them dazed. "Hopefully. While the T-Alpha strain's rate of death is considerably lower than that of Uroboros, it is still reasonably high… And looking at how many of these fine specimens were desecrated by the criminal way of life in this land, I doubt many will live through it…" He said as he fully turned around and started to the door. "Have the orderlies ready the specimens for administration. I will go engineer the majority of possible vaccines into the virus while they prepare them."

"Trying to prevent any crippling sicknesses, I see…" Enver grinned. "Of course, that is a necessity… We cannot have a subject 'fuse' with the common cold and have it affect their performance… That would be horrifying…"

"Exactly." Wesker nodded as he pushed his sunglasses back with one finger. "In the meantime, I want you to personally oversee inspection of the specimens. Some of those girls, like Meg, are still rather young… And I don't trust the feeble orderlies this country can procure to keep their hands to themselves." He said sourly.

"How long will we need to keep them under narcosis once they are secured?" Enver asked as he drew a long, golden combat knife from his belt. "The longer you take, the more fun I can have with the delinquents who try to touch the specimens…"

"Keep them under narcosis for about an hour and a half after they've been fed." Wesker said as he quickly punched in the code to open the blast doors.

"When they wake up afterwards… We inject."

* * *

"Sei! Jo! Oi! Over here!" Sei cringed slightly when she heard Takane's thickly accented voice disrupt the general peace and silence that reigned over the lavish restaurant. Several disgruntled customers, easily recognised from society's higher classes by the way they looked at Jo's rather casual outfit, sneered and frowned at them when they realized the loudmouthed girl was one of their accomplices.

"They had to pick one of these places…" Sei groaned softly when she saw the customers turned their noses up at the fact that Jo, who had opted to stay in her normal attire, was flaunting the dress code such a luxurious restaurant normally sported. Slowly, she tried to look away from the predatory gazes the other customers were shooting at them, and quickly led Jo and Amy to the table where Takane was waving madly at them, ignoring the multitude of bandages over her arms and shoulders as excitement dominated. Leo still looked worse for the wear, slumped forward over the table, with a patch of gauze over his left eye, and a sling around his arm, with several bandages pushing against the tuxedo he wore. He seemed to be asleep.

"C'mon, guys, take a seat!" Takane ushered them with an excited whisper. "Jus' wait 'til you guys hear the titbit I got for you…" She grinned as the three sat down, Sei taking a bit longer as she smoothed out the elegant dress she wore. "Y'know that chick who called you guys, Jill Valentine?" Takane said softly, grinning widely as she looked at the three. "Now, she looks, moves and fights like a chick in her late thirties… Guess how old she really is…" She grinned.

"Early forties?" Sei guessed with a shrug. "Possibly mid-forties or late forties…"

"Nope!" Takane chuckled as she leaned forward. "Get this… She's seventy-one!" This caught everyone's attention causing them to stare at her with wide eyes and slack jaws. Even Jo raised a brow at the story. "It's true!" Takane grinned. "She was born in 1974 - apparently she was one of Umbrella's partners' playthings for a while, that's why she ages so slowly." She giggled. "Imagine that… If anyone knows who took Meg, it's her… She got the wrinkles to prove it!"

"Is that so?"

Takane immediately fell silent and shot back against her chair as a woman clad in casual wear entered the small booth. The woman smiled at Sei and her companions, removing the blue cap that covered her auburn locks, which were tied into a ponytail behind her head as she sat down. The lavish light reflected off her black leather jacket, and complemented the white tube top she wore, as well as the beige straps of her small backpack. Her dark jean hugged her hips tightly as she crossed her legs under the table, and she scanned the three visitors with a timid smile as she glanced at Takane. "You should know better than to gossip, Takane. You are a police child, after all…" She nodded at Takane, who only forced a laugh and scratched the back of her head in embarrassment. "I'm Jill Valentine." She said, extending her hand over the table to shake Sei's. "I'm sorry we're a bit late - we ran into some trouble at our Japan branch, and our 'CEO' will be a bit late because of it." She said apologetically as she shook Amy's hand. Jo simply stared at her blankly, and it seemed that Jill already knew attempting to greet her would be futile, as she didn't bother to try and shake Jo's hand.

"We're grateful that you offered us your help." Sei suddenly spoke with a polite voice. "We thought our search would go on for days, but then you called. It's clear you know a lot more about these people than we do."

"Thus we tried to help." Jill nodded. "Now, our CEO will explain the majority of the details once he arrives with the others. Until then, he told me to tide you over with as much information on the soldiers as we could gather." She said, quickly fidgeting with her backpack as she procured a large dossier from its folds, sliding over to Sei as she dropped the backpack next to the chair. "The group who took Meg is known as HCF, or the Host Containment Force. They were normally a former Umbrella researcher-turned-bio-weapon's personal taskforce, until said man died in Africa in 2009. Now they're under the command of one Enver Brandt, a skilled commando, as well as yet another bio-weapon, though, no-one knows what he's capable of."

Sei carefully opened the dossier, her eyes first falling on the picture of the large, muscular African man standing there; staring into the distance, away from the camera has his thick dreadlocks swayed in the wind. The first detail Sei took in was the fierce expression on his face, one of malice, hatred and murderous intent. Secondly, she knitted her brow when she saw the man's eyes, nothing but two orbs of white, devoid of pupils or irises. Lastly, she saw how muscular he was, clad in a black sweatshirt and a dark pair of cargo pants. "That's him." Jill said as Sei passed the photo to Jo. "Enver Brandt. He's a former Sierra Leone death squad officer, who turned commando after the violence there ended in 2033, over twelve years ago. Afterwards he disappeared for a while, only for his name to pop up during several Missing Persons investigations. Afterwards, he made a huge political splash when he started to sell versions of Umbrella's B. to criminal organisations, in a bid for funding. Now we know that funding was used to rebuild H.C.F."

"And H.C.F sent those things to take Meg?" Jo asked, glaring at Jill. "What were they? They were anything but human."

"True, the white blood gives that away." Jill smiled. "Those soldiers are known as 'synthetics' - they're an artificial brand of combatant, procured by H.C.F, by infusing a steel, cybernetic endoskeleton with a mix of a pasty, sticky mesh similar to rubber, and several other biodegradables. Lastly, they add a few mechanisms into the body, like eyes and a voice transmitter, and a chip inside their heads, and presto. A loyal, smart henchman who can think on the fly, depending on the parameters programmed into them."

"But what does H.C.F want with Meg?" Sei asked with a confused expression as she sifted through the files. "Meg is… by all manners of speaking, a normal girl. What good would she be to a bio-weapon?" She asked. "I mean, she's mostly dependant on Jo. Why didn't they go for her instead?"

"Uroboros."

Sei quickly turned her head to the entrance of the booth when she saw Jill smile at hearing the voice, and Jo, Amy and Takane followed suit shortly after. Their eyes fell upon an elderly gentleman, clad in formal wear as he stood with his arms crossed. Even with the greying hair and the wizened face, the man still looked like a capable person - his body structure was still slightly muscular under the tuxedo, and he still stood at a considerable height, though his slightly raspy voice gave his age away. Three other people stood behind him as he glanced at Jill and smiled, before wholly entering the booth. "Name's Chris Redfield." He said as he shook Sei and Amy by the hand. As he turned to try and greet Jo, Jill simply waved his attempt away and beckoned him to sit. "I'm the current director of the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance, or B.S.A.A, as you know it." He said as he glanced at the dossier Sei was handling. "We chose the meeting time to be this early because we know this might take some time, depending on how patient you'll be while we attempt to save your friend."

He then turned to the three people who came with him, each of them very aged, but still healthy-looking. He motioned to the first person, a small, tanned woman. "This is Sheva Alomar. She worked with me as a B.S.A.A operative during 2009, in West Africa's Kijuju region. Behind her," He pointed at a taller, darker-skinned man who seemed to be aging for the worse, facially speaking. "Is Josh Stone, another B.S.A.A operative from Africa. And lastly," he pointed to a slightly young-looking man, streaks of blonde still evident in his greying hair. "We have Leon S. Kennedy. He joined the B.S.A.A in 2010, after a stint as a government agent." Chris then turned back to the three girls. "I won't beat around the bush; each of us here has extensive experience in biological warfare, built up through years of combating Umbrella B.. It will take a while before we can strike at H.C.F on the airfield, but until then I think it's best that you are told as much as possible about them, and the history of Umbrella and its associates."

"What was that word you said?" Jo asked suddenly, hardly bothering to sound the least bit polite or grateful after hearing she would have to wait. "Uroboros… What was that?"

"Uroboros…" Sheva, the tanned woman, suddenly spoke up, "is what we believe to be the main reasoning behind the kidnapping of not only Meg, but two-hundred and ninety-nine other youngsters here in Japan." She said gravely. "We believe Enver Brandt has recovered an old sample of it, and is intending to modify it to his will."

"It was a virus that would've been used to bring about the forced evolution of mankind." Chris said sadly. "Back when I was a lot younger, I was an inhabitant of Raccoon City, as was Jill. Our Special Forces team leader, Albert Wesker, betrayed us during one of our missions, injecting himself with a viral strain that was supposed to render him superhuman. It backfired, however, and he was killed by a B.O.W." He frowned. "But we were wrong. Wesker was alive, and we ran into him again at the place of one the outbreaks, the Antarctic Research Facility, a couple of years later. There we saw exactly what happened to him. We failed to beat him then, and we kept searching for him afterwards. Then we got a tip-off from a reliable source of Umbrella's remaining founder, Ozwell Spencer, in his European Estate. When we got there, however…"

"Wesker got there before us, and killed Spencer." Jill said with a slight hint of anger on her face. "He used his new powers and easily beat us, and almost killed Chris. That's when I decided to take advantage of his carelessness. I dove into him, tackling him out of the window in a bid to kill him." She sighed as sorrow flashed in her eyes. "It didn't. Both of us survived… and he used me as one of his toys. In the end I find out I was one of the main elements in the creation of the Uroboros virus… Ironic, that I was used for something I fought to stop…"

"But Wesker's dead now." The man named Leon Kennedy finally spoke up. "Chris and Sheva blew him up in volcano in 2009, there's no way he's coming back, and this whole Uroboros ordeal ended after that. TriCell got nailed for partnering with Wesker, a B.S.A.A agent took over the reins, world's safe. For now, at least. As heartless as this may sound, what we need to focus on now, especially with a Genocide Angel like Jo on our side, is how we're gonna go to work on the airport with all those H.C.F synthetics there."

"Leon's right." Josh Stone nodded in agreement, speaking for the first time. "We shouldn't get lost in the past and forget about the future - if Brandt leaves Japan, we're screwed, as we have no idea where he's going. Add to that the multitude of B.O.W's he might have, and we are in for a tough time."

"I don't care what's in my way." Jo suddenly spoke up. "I don't care how many men armed with how many guns you want to send in. I don't care about any bio-weapons, and I sure as hell don't care about Enver Brandt. All I care about is getting Meg back - and I'll kill anyone who gets in my way of doing that."

"Then save those bullets for when we attack." Jill said. "I promise you, as soon as we get there you can go looking for Meg, we won't stop you." She looked at Jo sincerely, an almost pleading look on her face. "But you already had a tough time dealing with eleven of them - there are bound to be hundreds on that airstrip, all armed to the teeth. Please, Jo… Help us get rid of them, and we'll help you find Meg. One hand washes the other." She sighed. "Without your help we won't have a chance. There are too few of us to kill them all, and there are too many of them for you to fight alone, not to mention the bio-weapons you'll have to face. Heaven knows what you'll do if you cross paths with a Reaper…" She said.

"Trust us when we say that a mass of such experiments in one place is a pain in the ass." Leon said as he locked eyes with Jill. "I went to Spain once, in 2003, and I nearly lost my life numerous times because of all the monsters there. Even the villagers had turned into mindless animals, Jo. There are certain monsters that cannot be killed simply by shooting at them. Hell, I fought one who took a rocket to the face and shrugged it off, waving its finger at me afterwards before royally kicking my ass, quite literally, at that." He scowled, averting his gaze, as he seemed to reminisce.

"And we fought certain variants of what happened when Uroboros goes wrong." Sheva spoke up, drawing Jo's attention to her. "No matter the situation, there was no way we could've fought them man alone - you need a partner to take them down, and none of us are able bodied enough to be that partner."

Jo stared at Sheva for a while, narrowing her eyes slightly as she went through all of the pleas she received within her mind. The synthetics, in her own opinion, were hardly an obstacle; she disposed of the previous ones easily. The other things they mentioned, "B.O.W's", perplexed her greatly. She had never heard of something shrugging off a blast from a rocket and proceeding to attack afterwards unless it had some similarities to a cybot - something the word, 'organic', told her was not so. Then there was Uroboros. _If I need a partner to take one down, it's gonna be a hassle to get past them…_ She pondered as she averted her gaze, slightly furrowing her brow as she thought. _Guess I have no choice…_

"Fine." She said curtly, glaring at Chris. "I'll help you kill the synthetics. But I have some requests if I do." She said. Chris nodded contently, and Sheva, Josh and Leon shrugged, seeing no reason to object. "First, I don't want any bullshit from your men. I don't want them fooling around or cracking jokes - that'll just delay Meg's rescue even more." She said. "Secondly, I need some more ammo for my guns. Mine's running low." She looked to each of the four elder operatives, and saw each of them nod again. "And lastly, I want your men to leave Enver Brandt alone if he's near Meg. If he as much as touches her, I'll kill him myself."

"Why did I see that coming?" Jill chuckled. "Of course you can have Brandt for yourself; he's low priority to us on this one. The missing persons are more important than his ambitions." She smiled. "And, of course, Meg is the most important of said persons." She added quickly.

"So that's settled then?" Chris asked Jo. "You'll help us here, with fighting H.C.F?" He seemed almost surprised at how easily Jo had made up her mind. Sei repressed a slight grin at this - she knew he must have heard of Jo's stubbornness somewhere…

"Yes…" Jo nodded. "I'll help. But only with the synthetics." She warned. "After that, any non-Uroboros monster is your troubles, not mine. I don't care what else they send after me - I'll kill anything that comes in my way."

"Spoken exactly like the headstrong girl we were informed of." Josh nodded with a smile. "You'll find the B.S.A.A has more than you need to help you in that. We have stockpiles of weapons ranging from assault rifles to sniper rifles, and Leon here has a… a 'contact' who can organize you some rather potent custom material." He smiled. "Last I checked, he had some _very_ impressive gadgets…"

Jo was a tad shocked at the sudden hospitality. Here they were basically offering her access to an armoury - and a black-market supplier, if the word 'contact' was any indication. To her, this seemed like more than just some simple coup hunting a madman. These people seemed to want to help her, even with her hostility towards them. Lowering her head slightly, she slowly slumped back into her seat. "Thanks…" She muttered curtly, allowing her fringe to cover her eyes.

"Well then…" Chris smiled as the waiter approached. "We have much to do. We need to plan the attack, organise the teams, and enlighten everyone on H.C.F in more detail." He spoke. "We also need to get you all prepped and ready to fight any B.O.W's we come across - I'd hate for you guys to come across more Majini lookalikes…" He muttered. "We got some nasty surprises from those guys…"

"But as always…" Jill cut him off with a smirk. "Chris is planning too far ahead. Something that's become common after the Africa incident…" She chided him playfully, to which Chris only shrugged. "As dark a time as this is, I think there's a possibility to shed some rather positive light on this evening." She said, smiling to each of them as she beckoned the waiter to enter the room.

"I do believe we have a new alliance to celebrate…"

* * *

The harsh, helpless feeling of numbness quickly shook Meg from her daze, and she uttered a loud, slurred yelp as the orderlies hastily tied her to the operating table. Her vision was still blurry after being shaken from her sleep by these men, and her hearing still was not up to scratch, seeing as the loud machinery around the table hardly echoed softly in her ears. The feeling of the orderlies' strong hands hardly registered to her, her body still numbed after her long sleep, and even the tight, constricting shackles that were being tied around her wrists and ankles stung her skin only slightly. She felt a reverberation rock through her body as they forcefully slammed her back onto the table, but she hardly felt a thing. Lazily, she saw one of the orderlies rush over to a keyboard, punching in a code as his fingers blurred across the keypad. Even in her stupor, she still screamed when several more shackles extended from the table itself, clamping her body to the table with such force and constriction that she could hardly flex her fingers. A man in a white lab coat suddenly entered the room, carrying what appeared to be a high-tech version of a ball-gag, while another entered shortly after, carrying a steel briefcase, and scurried over to one of the large, shiny tables. The operating table she was bound to suddenly started rise, tipping forward so it could stand at a rather sharp angle, all the while carrying her frail body along with it. She tried to protest when the first doctor came to apply the ball-gag, but found herself unable to do so - her body simply refused to cooperate.

The doctor slowly loomed over her, gag at the ready, drawing several loud sighs from her, a poor attempt to scream. Then she glanced at the doctor -and her attempts to scream died out immediately. She could easily see the stress on the aged man's features, picking up on severe lack of sleep by glancing at the dark rings around his eyes, and finally, she met his eyes, only to repress a gasp. The way the man's eyes danced filled her head with images of her past. The look within the doctor's eyes was the same look Jo had in hers whenever Meg got herself kidnapped - a look of fear. "I-I'm so sorry…" The doctor whimpered under his mask. "H-He… Has my family…" His eyes started to tear up, and he quickly closed them as he brought the gag closer. "P-Please… Forgive me…"

Only then, in the process of feeling the obscenely large ball shoved into her mouth, did she notice the other doctor - as well as the glint of a syringe's needle shining in the overhead lights, and before she knew it, she felt a slight pin prick in her arm. She shook slightly as the burning sensation spread throughout her body, and within a moment, the numbness was gone. "A-Apply the apparatuses!" She heard the first doctor call shakily at his subordinates, who hurried toward Meg with what seemed like bolt-on frames for most of the shackles. With all her energy returned, she screamed against the gag with all her might, futilely attempting to move her constricted body, to no avail - the shackles hardly allowed her to twitch her head. Then her eyes met a sight she found very familiar - the blonde hair, the black shades, the dark attire; all of them complementing the one image she recalled almost instantly: The man who kidnapped her, standing right there in front of her, smirking darkly as he watched her squirm.

"It's your turn, Meg…" He said sinisterly. "I believe I… _neglected_ to properly introduce myself last time. I do beg your pardon for that." He glared at her from under his sunglasses, making her break into a cold sweat as a wave of discomfort swept over her. "My name is Albert Wesker." He smirked. "And I shall soon be your new God…"

As if on cue, a mess of thin, writhing mechanical arms extended around the operating table, each one tipped with a box that rotated around the axis at the very end of the arm, and each box tipped with a vial of sickly green gunk that served only to send more shivers down Meg's spine. Wesker snapped his fingers once, and the two doctors immediately started working their magic upon the consoles they sat behind. A buzz of electricity coursed through the multitude of wires running down each arm, connecting to the small boxes, mostly at the area where the vials met the black, plastic material. Several of the doctors' subordinates quickly hopped forward, sweating profusely as they pulled each box off an individual arm - twenty-two arms, Meg fearfully counted as the orderlies set to work, turning their guilt-ridden faces away from her sheer look of terror once what was under each box lay exposed.

Syringe needles - each one as thick as a small seed, and each measuring about a foot, maybe less. Meg couldn't even register how quickly the waves of panic swept over her body - she only felt her heart start to beat so rapidly that it hurt, her cold sweat running down her face and scantily-clad body, making it glisten in the fluorescent lighting, and the many tremors that shook through her body at the sight of the looming needles. She did her best to calm herself, even turning her gaze away from the threat altogether, in a bid to face her captor. Her eyes widened when she saw the first doctor stalk over to Wesker, openly crying as he tore his mask off. "P-Please…" He begged the sinister man. "M-My family… Please release my f-family…"

"Oh? Didn't I tell you?" Wesker asked nonchalantly, face contorting into a wicked mask as his lips twitched upward into an almost evil grin. At this moment, Meg's adrenaline kicked in, and she could almost swear she felt the world slow down around her - just in time to see Wesker raise his arm, straighten his palm - and drive it clean through the doctor's chest.

_**SPLAT!**_

Meg jerked, tears flowing freely, mixing with the droplets of blood spattered across her face as the doctor gasped at Wesker, blood streaming from his mouth as he stared at the black-clad man, eyes wide and dimming. "Your family…" Wesker sneered. "Has been dead for the past four years… Just as you will be soon…" He violently tugged his hand from the dying doctor's chest. "Did you not realize that you cannot trust me?" He frowned as the doctor uttered his last breath, life leaving his eyes as they fluttered closed. "Once again…" Wesker furrowed his brow. "I am surrounded by incompetence…" He said as he locked eyes with Meg, chuckling as he saw the pale shade of white the girl's face had taken on. "Oops… Did I scare you?" He grinned. "Good. If you refuse to obey willingly, as you said you would, then I shall use fear instead. At least, until you become my little puppet… Then you'll follow me, regardless of your will." Fixing Meg one last glance before turning his back, he quickly looked to the remaining doctor, trembling behind the console with his finger hovering over a large, red switch. He chuckled darkly as he turned his back on Meg, intently listening as he signalled to the doctor with a simple gesture. "Inject her."

His lips split into a cruel grin as he heard the needles pierce flesh, muscle and bone alike with a sickening crunch, followed by a scream of agony so loud that even the steel ball-gag could not restrain it. The high pitched shriek echoed off the very walls, travelling through the entire complex as the sickly green liquid slowly, painfully made its way into the young girl's body. _Yes… Scream._ Wesker thought evilly as he strolled down the corridor. _Show me that ferocity with which you will fight… Show me…_ He grinned as he broke into a fit of dark laughter. _Show me the latent power with which you will ultimately **kill** the Genocide Angel!

* * *

_

_It hurts… Oh god, it hurts!_

Meg didn't know where she was anymore - she couldn't even focus for a second. The cold steel of the thick syringe needles felt as if it were searing away at her flesh, emitting a wave of cold painful enough to turn her vision to pure crimson as it spread across her skull. She could literally feel the green gunk tearing her apart from the inside, feel it push outward from inside as her body shook so violently that some of the shackles came loose. Several bright flashes pierced the red haze clouding her vision, and she saw the steel above her act as a mirror. Even through all her immense pain, she could see the deathly white hue her skin had taken on, and saw that her mouth was so far open as she screamed that there were gaps above and below the gag, allowing her own ear-bursting shrieks to deafen her. She felt the movements, the rips and the tears within her body begin to worsen, growing more frequent as her scream grew louder. Several more flashes of red within her vision passed, and her eyes met those of the reflection, seeing a macabre black liquid run through her veins, causing them to pop under her pale skin as pools of black started to take over her once blue eyes. Just then she saw the blood leak from her mouth, pooling around the gag as her vision turned crimson again, only for it to start fading as her scream grew softer, deafening as the blackness came, relieving her of her pain as the last grains of her consciousness slipped away.

* * *

Jo jerked slightly as the wolf-whistle met her ears. She stood waiting outside while Sei, Jill and the rest of the B.S.A.A quickly left for the bathroom or went to settle the bill, thus escaping from the maddening noise within the restaurant. Inhaling deeply, she shrugged the odd whistle off as she felt the cool, midnight wind brush past her face as it howled past the buildings. Then the whistle came again - and again, and again, and again, serving only to fuel her already building anger as her left eye twitched. With a slight huff, she placed her hand on the grip of her gun and briskly strode in the direction of the whistle. Every now and then, it would sound again, almost guiding her to a place where something odd would happen. Jo frowned as it sounded for the umpteenth time. I'm going to shoot this punk… She grit her teeth.

Then it sounded again, right before the entrance to a long, dark alleyway, drifting from the darkness as it assaulted her ears, causing her to frown in agitation. Angrily, she set off down the alleyway, drawing both of her guns as her left eye twitched in annoyance yet again. Then something caught her eye - an weird, dim blue light shining from one of the large crevices within the alleyway, splaying an oddly soothing glow across the dark walls. Cautiously, she approached the source of the light, moving as silently as possible, narrowing her eyes as she crept closer.

"Ya don't hafta worry about fightin', strangah…" Her eyes widened as the gruff voice, slightly muffled and carrying an odd Cockney accent, drifted from the shadows. "I'm simply a good salesman, nothin' more." Jo pondered this for a moment, before nodding to herself and stepping into the crevice, her guns still in her hands. Her eyes immediately fell upon the obscenely long chalice standing against the wall, a brilliant blue flame flickering atop it in an almost mesmerizing cerulean display. Then her eyes fell upon the slightly hunched man, whose body was almost entirely obscured by the black longcoat he wore, propped hood hiding his face in shadow, exposing only a dark blue bandana covering his mouth. "Welcome." He said with a chuckle. "I heard some strangahs in 'ere talkin' bout assaultin' H.C.F. That wouldin be you wit' the guns, wouldit?" He asked, maintaining his slouched stature, with his arms crossed over his chest. Jo studied the man painstakingly, frowning slightly when she could not make out any of the man's face, but she nodded nonetheless, lowering her guns slightly. "Well then, have I got a surprise fah you…" He grinned, pulling open his longcoat.

Even Jo was stunned at what she saw, so much so that her arms fell to her sides, hands limply clinging to her guns as she stared at the toyshop assortment of weapons and ammunition stored in the many folds of the man's coat, ranging from custom handguns to antique Magnum revolvers and, although impossible, a rocket launcher stashed between the boxes, belts and cartridges of bullets. "Take yah pick, strangah." The man grinned. "This one's on the house."

* * *

"Oh, great." Sei sighed as she and Amy accompanied Chris and his companions out of the Rosso Angelos. "Jo's gone missing again…" She said dryly as she eyed the empty streets. "This is just brilliant." Chris glanced in every direction, perplexed at how the gunslinger had suddenly disappeared. He quickly turned to face his companions.

"Hey guys, have you…" He fell silent as his eyes fell only on Jill, Sheva and Josh. "Okay, where the hell has Leon gone?"

* * *

"Hahaha! Strangah…" The salesman laughed heartily as he handed Jo the obscenely large revolver, almost as bulky as a Cybot's arm. He saw Jo carefully examine the gun in her hands, frowning when she saw room for only three bullets in its bus. "Now what wouldya need a gun like that foh?" He asked her with a chuckle. "There any cybots ya need t' put down with one shot? That gun'll do it for ya…" He laughed. "It ain't called a 'Hand Cannon' for nuthin', y'know…"

"I'll take it." Jo said with a nod. "I might need this, where I'm going…" She said, mumbling a silent 'thanks' to the salesman as she took the holster for the big revolver and clipped it to her belt, quickly slipping the revolver into place as she did so. A slight rustle from before her drew her attention again, and she saw the salesman dig three large boxes of ammo, disguised as shoeboxes, from his backpack.

"Ya'll need these, strangah." He chuckled. "These here are .721 SafeBreaker rounds - the only type o' ammo that there Hand Cannon uses. Guaranteed to break clean through a bank safe - behind a bunker. Underground. From th' top of a skyscrapah." He laughed heartily. "Though I suggest ya fire slightly from th' hip, in case it slips from yah grasp. If that happens… I ain't payin' for any spine operations, strangah." He warned, bowing slightly as he bade her farewell with a wave. "I believe yah friends are searchin' for yah, strangah." He chuckled. "Come back anytime, should yah need more… equipment." He grinned under his bandana. "The Merchant always has what yah want."

Jo nodded curtly, trying to get used to the extra twenty pounds of death the large revolver added to her weight, and spun on her heel, starting down the alleyway once again, walking briskly to catch up with her comrades. "Jus' a word of advice though, strangah." The Merchant called, making her stop and crane her head around slightly. The blue hue of the flame was still visible, but the Merchant himself was outside her field of view. "Don' try to shoot that tankbustah with one hand - it packs a bit too much punch for that to work." He said, and Jo quickly registered two red dots under the Merchant's hood. "'Specially for a 'Genocide Angel'…" He laughed. Jo's eyes widened immediately, and she swung around on the spot, aiming her handgun where the Merchant once stood.

"…Huh?" Jo found herself dumbfounded when she saw there was nothing - not even an empty shell casing or a burn mark from the flames - where the merchant once stood. The only trace of movement was a slight flutter as a rogue piece of paper blew into the sky, leaving only the faint echo of the Merchant's voice drifting through the alley. "_Enjoy yah new gun… strangah…_"

* * *

"I see you made a new friend."

Jo stopped in her tracks as she neared the alley's entrance, turning her already confused, slightly agitated gaze up. She recognised the man from the restaurant - one of the B.S.A.A agents, Leon Kennedy. He smirked as he leaned against the wall, turning his gaze from her heated glare to bag of shoeboxes in her hand. "And you got some new 'accessories' too…" He chuckled. "I take it you got some new gear as well?"

"I'm never going near him again." Jo said dryly as she and Leon exited the alley and started down the street. "He's annoying. And he called me stranger. And '_Genocide Angel_'." She frowned. "I hate that name…" She growled. "Why did you tell him?"

"What are you talking about?" Leon asked with a chuckle. "You've got the stick by the wrong end, Jo." He smirked, confusing the gunslinger even more. Leon stopped and turned to face her, a look of amusement on his face, but she could tell he was serious. "I didn't tell him you're a Genocide Angel. No-one did." He smiled, seeing Jo's eyes widen slightly.

"But… Then how…?"

"He's the Merchant." Leon smiled with a shrug. "He just knows this stuff…" As if on cue, Jo caught site of the longcoat-clad man again, this time seeing his two glowing, red irises in clear detail as he stood across the street, at the entrance to one of the parks. Then, with an almighty roar, a large bus passed them - and as she looked again, the Merchant was gone.

* * *

Darkness seemed to seep from each crevice of the room as the two looming figures stood over the containment unit, the bright light within it the only source of illumination on the entire sub-level. The brilliant white light cast a magnificent hue upon the skin of the girl sleeping within the unit's confines, comfortable covered by a few white sheets as the numerous monitors connected to her body, some sticking onto her shoulders and chest, disappearing under the sheets as others snaked between the girl's snow white locks, coming to rest on her temples as she breathed calmly, chest rising and falling rhythmically.

"Seems the T-Alpha virus has paid off…" Enver smirked, the white light casting a lighter hue upon his African skin as his dreadlocks glistened in the incandescence. "Specimen 300Z12 was the only survivor of the T-Alpha injection - the rest were either melted from the inside out, or blew up." He said. "Pair this with your twenty-seven percent survival rate from the Americans, the eleven percent survival rate from Europe and the fifteen percent survival rate from Africa, and you have just proved that the T-Alpha virus is a success." He grinned.

"Finally…" Wesker grinned as he punched a code into the unit, the lambency from the fluorescent lights sinisterly dancing on his black attire as the glass screen quickly withdrew into the unit itself, allowing him to reach a hand into it. "After all these years of failure, I have finally found my answer." He said as he stroked the girl by the chin. "Meg… You truly could be my greatest achievement yet…" He grinned as he used his two fingers to pull her eye open, revealing a dancing silver pupil, in the middle of a pitch-dark iris. "Oh, how I wish I could see the look on Jo's face when she sees what perfection I have elevated you to…" He smirked. "Soon, Enver…" He spoke to his dark-skinned subordinate. "Soon we shall inject her with Uroboros… Soon we shall achieve a specimen worthy to walk this planet under my rule… A new breed of superhuman altogether…"

"Much like the Genocide Angels were meant to be?" Enver asked, eyeing the now white-haired Meg as she slept peacefully. "Only with less flaws?"

"No…" Wesker grinned. "A Genocide Angel cannot dream to achieve what I plan to bestow upon Meg… She will be no mere angel, Enver. She will be exactly like you; my elite servants, the most powerful of my new genesis." He grinned.

"Just like you, Enver… She shall be one of my Archangels!"

* * *

**A/N: And thusly, we draw to the inevitable close on this chapter. I would, once again, like to extend a personal word of thanks to Cloverfield for beta-reading this chapter for me. Honestly, half of the quality of this chapter comes from her treasure-troves of knowledge, and as such, she has been invaluable to me as an editor. You have my humblest gratitude, Clove - you're one in a million.**

**Well, that's that, and no harm done - At least, I pray not. I subscribe there is not much more to say - so until th next chapter, I bid all of you farewell.**

**'Til next time,  
****CP **


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